The City of the Broken (Prince of the Broken) (18 page)

“
Is that Anita?” I ask.

“
It could be anyone. Who would want to stay locked in there?” says Frederick, his eyes gleaming with a distant terror.

“
This is such a horrible place. A house of shame and anguish. If Anita’s dream wasn’t dead already, it certainly will be here” says Calix looking shocked, like he didn’t expect this hospital to be so awful.

“
It’s a living death. Its like they’ve buried those people alive. I don’t think they are screaming because they are mad, I think they are screaming because they are trapped and know they will never get out” I say, short of breath.

I didn
’t expect to feel so afraid or hopeless, but being near this hospital make me feel exactly that. Even in a graveyard there is a sense of peace, but here there is only torment and agony.

“
How are we to know which room she is in? There are so many windows, many on the second and third floors. We should have brought a ladder with us” says Frederick.

“
I agree. We really haven’t thought this through. How are we going to get Anita out of this horrid place?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Lets try calling for her first. That’s the most obvious and easiest step” says Calix.

“
Wait! What about the hospital staff, they are bound to hear us and then they’ll know we are here and we’ll have to leave without Anita” says Frederick, sounding alarmed.

“
Okay .Stupid plan. Seren, do you have any ideas?” he asks.

“
Actually Calix, I do. It struck me all of a sudden that the only thing Anita pays attention to and cares about is ballet” I say, believing my plan to be that of a mastermind.

“
And?” asks Calix, not understanding the relevance.

“
If we play ballet music, or if I pretend to be a ballerina, maybe she’ll come to the window and we’ll at least know which room she’s in” I say confidently.

“
That’s a good plan. Although I don’t have any ballet music and I think creating any noise would be a disaster, so try dancing Seren please!” says Frederick.

“
I’ll dance, if you two do as well. But how will she know we are dancing if she cant hear the music?” I ask.

“
I’ll hazard a guess the rooms in there are tiny, if she isn’t already at the window, our dancing will draw her there. Any movement will make her curious .She’ll have nothing better to do than observe what’s going on” says Calix.

“
What if she’s sleeping?” I ask

“
She may be. But its worth a shot. Come on ,I have no better ideas” says Calix, as he leaps into movement, passing quite readily as a male ballet dancer. Graceful, supple, beautiful.

Frederick clearly isn
’t comfortable dancing, but he joins in nonetheless, showing his commitment to Anita. I have no idea how to dance. I twirl around, pointing my toes, trying to remember whatever it was I learnt when my Mother took me to ballet classes aged four.

Suddenly I b
ecome aware of a white figure standing at the first floor hospital window. I feel panicked that it might be a nurse, but I twirl with glee when I realize its Anita. Frederick has also noticed. I tap Calix who is dancing wildly and hasn’t yet realized she’s there. Anita stares intently, entranced as she was at the Black Ballet. I’ve never seen her look so awful. Her usually perfectly styled hair hangs long, greasy and lank at her waist. Frederick walks to the window, she stares blankly like she doesn’t recognize him, like he’s blocking the view of the ballet.

“
Anita. Its okay. I’m here now, we’ve come to rescue you” says Frederick.

He turns to face us.

“How am I going to get these bars off the window?” asks Frederick.

Calix and Frederick spend the next half h
our pulling frantically at the bars. I act as a look out, whilst continuing my ballet moves whenever Anita walks away from the window, in case she calls a member of staff.

She clearly is obsessed by ballet. Sometimes she begins to look tired, bored or conf
used but when I start dancing she becomes alive, a wildfire ignited in her eyes.

“
This would have been easier if we’d brought the car” says Calix.

“
Yes but they’d hear that” says Frederick.

Suddenly, both Calix and Frederick fall backwards as the bars have finally been yanked off the window. Anita continues her blank ,bewildered stare.

“
Okay, we need Anita to step back from the window” says Calix covered in mud, holding a large rock in his hand.

“
I don’t consider myself a vandal who indulges in criminal damage but in this case I’ll make an exception” he says.

I stop dancing. We hide and wait so that Anita will get bored and walk away from the window. When she finally does, dancing around the room (tall and elegant like a new born gazelle despite her un-brus
hed hair), Calix throws the rock.

Alarms go off, seemingly everywhere. The window is smashed. Frederick jumps through and grabs a screaming Anita.

He carries her, as we all run faster than we thought ourselves ever capable of, across the lawn, away from the nightmare hospital. As we do, I can hear voices behind us.

“
Stop them”!

“
They are kidnapping a patient”!

And I realize they think
we
are the cruel people, doing a bad deed. They think they are helping those people and that’s difficult to come to terms with.

“
My legs feel like they are going to drop off” I say to Calix, who nods in agreement.

Frederick has a ruthless determination in his eyes, the same look he has when he
’s playing a Black Ball game. Anita is crying, but she’s looking at Frederick lovingly this time, like she knows who he is and is happy he’s here.

We run through the gate with the picked lock. Alfred sees us and starts the car, presumably realizing we are in a great hurry. Calix gets in the front. I go in the back with Anita
and Frederick.

“
Oh Frederick. I’m so glad you saved me from that dreadful prison. I thought I’d die there” says Anita, hugging him. Even though  her hair is a mess and she has a long white nightgown on, she looks beautiful, like a mannequin or porcelain doll.

The car s
creeches, taking off at an alarming speed. As we drive further on, I start to hear a siren. I look behind and I can see that a black ambulance is chasing us.

“
They’re after us. Drive faster Alfred please” says Calix.

“
Right, Your Majesty” nods Alfred, cool and calm as ever, showing no emotion, only following his order.

“
They’ll know who we are Calix. This is the royal Rolls Royce. They’ll see your number plate” I say, concerned.

“
I don’t care Seren. I just care that Anita is safe. Besides I’m the Prince. Now I’ve seen that hospital for myself, I want some
big
changes brought about” says Calix seriously.

I did forget momentarily that Calix was no ordinary criminal. He could shut that hospital tomorrow if he wanted to.

“Are we going to see the ballet?” asks Anita, hopefully.

“
No Anita. We’re going home. Forget about the ballet please.” says Fredrick in despair that even after all she’s been through ,its still all she cares about.

Alfred cuts rapidly down a little lane and we lose the ambulance.

“Just taking a shortcut” he reassures the passengers.

“
To the ballet?” enquires Anita and this time she is ignored.

We drop Anita and Frederick off at Frederick’s penthouse apartment.

“
Are you sure you’ll be okay?”, asks Calix.

“
I will .I’ll take care of Anita, don’t worry” says Frederick, still carrying her. His determination evident in his dark eyes.

“
Call immediately if anything goes wrong” says Calix forcefully.

“
If
they
show up asking to have her back you mean. Yes, I’ll call. But I’ll take care of myself” he says, fiercely independent, as ever.

Calix climbs into the back of the car with me.

“This day has certainly been eventful” he says, as Alfred drives slowly.

“
Indeed. I wont lie, I found it comical to be in a car chase with an ambulance” I giggle.

“
Me too. I was glad I was in the front of the car, because I was sniggering as we drove away from the hospital. Frederick would have hated that, he takes everything very seriously” says Calix.

Calix gets Alfred to drive me home.

“Do you think Anita will ever return to her usual self or do you think she’s finally snapped”? I ask him, still amazed at her rapid downward spiral.

“
Well I was astonished at how bad a state she was in when we saw her at the hospital. I wasn’t  expecting her to be so lost and bewildered, I felt certain that the real Anita was gone for good but when we started to drive away ,I could see fragments of her personality resurface. I think there is hope for her. She just needs support and to be around people like Frederick who have her best interests at heart. As long as she’s away from the hospital of doom, I think that’s all that matters” he smiles.

“
Yes, I think she’ll improve now she’s away from there. Thanks for giving me such an exciting and unforgettable day Calix. As scary as it was ,it certainly gave me an adrenaline rush like no other being chased by nurses and running what felt like a marathon on hospital grounds” I say smiling, as I depart from the car and kiss Calix goodbye.

Even though Anita is at present hardly a person to feel enviou
s of, seeing her and Frederick together, living in the same home without interruption from a possessive parent made me long for Calix and I to be married. Calix is almost in a jail, like that hospital, himself. Only he’s in a jail disguised as a luxurious palace. Frederick has his own place, he can do whatever he wants and he doesn’t need anyone’s permission. He doesn’t have to be on his guard and explain himself to anyone the way Calix does, even though they are both in the public eye. Sometimes I think it would be so much easier if Calix wasn’t a prince, and especially not the Prince of the Broken.

Chapter Fifteen.

Gloomsday

As I lie in bed, the muscles in my legs ache from all that running. I feel exhausted but I cant sleep. A sudden, overwhelming des
peration washes over me. I need to marry Calix. I need to be with him always. I hate only seeing him at college and for a couple of hours at the city .I want to live with him, share every memory, every moment. I would do anything. Yes, I’d even go personally to The King to ask him if I can become a citizen. But of course, that would be pointless because The King only limited who can become a citizen in the first place to stop us from getting married. The situation is so hopeless. I fall asleep from the lullaby that is my racing thoughts and my longing.

When I wake up, I
’m still tired ,although the daylight and morning rush to get ready means my yearning has at least lessened. Busyness is a cure for everything. I don’t understand people who moan about assignments, work and thinking are our only protection from pain and heartache. I shouldn’t feel so negative. I still have Calix, the one I love, that’s all that matters.

I hear the sound of a car horn outside. I look out of the window and to my surprise and
delight,  Calix has come to pick me up. I quickly grab my bag of books, turn the bathroom light off and go outside.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you” I smile.

“
Well I wasn’t planning on picking you up Seren but I couldn’t face staying in the city this morning, so I left early and thought I may as well give you a ride” he says chirpily.

“
Why didn’t you want to stay in the city?” I ask.

“
Its all over the news. ‘Prince Calix and Black Ball star Frederick Forefront in hospital kidnap and car chase’. Dads been on at me all morning, saying that I’m creating a negative reputation for the Royal Family of the Broken” he says, trying to look annoyed, but with a flicker of amusement lingering underneath.

“
I could have predicted that. Will you get into trouble? What about Frederick and Anita, the hospital staff haven’t taken her back there have they?” I ask, hoping  that our efforts were not in vain.

“
Frederick sent me a text in the early hours of this morning. He and Anita have had to go into hiding. He didn’t even tell
me
where, but says they are both safe and that he will keep me updated. As for me, well I don’t know. What I did was wrong by law. Maybe that was another factor in me leaving the city early” he says, looking a little afraid.

“
And Alfred the getaway driver, harbouring The City of the Broken’ s most wanted criminal.” I snigger.

“
Hey! You were in on this too don’t forget. And I think Frederick is the most wanted not me.” he says teasingly.

“
Yes, but I wont get into trouble because I’m not a citizen” I say, stressing the point that’s been bugging me all night.

We drive to college and wave Alfred goodbye as we walk through the doors. Alfred doesn
’t drive through the gates of the Broken city as I expect, but remains parked in the college car park.

“
He’s not going to stay there all day to wait for you Calix, is he”? I ask, thinking Alfred’s dedication to service is a little extreme.

“
He doesn’t usually. I genuinely think he feels he has committed a terrible crime because he was our driver and helped pick the lock to get into the hospital. Poor Alfred, he’s so old fashioned and proper. He’s probably too ashamed and afraid to head back to the city alone” says Calix, truthfully.

“
I hope your Father wont fire him” I say, knowing how the King’s mind works.

“
Me too. He’s likely to blame the whole thing on anyone but me, even Alfred who’s been employed by Dad even before I was born. Alfred did surprise me though, when he participated in something as dodgy as picking a lock” laughs Calix.

“
Yeah. But I think he saw it as assisting the prince rather than aiding a kidnap” I snigger.

At lunchtime in college, I walk to the library to meet Calix. He
’s sitting at a desk which is covered with a wide stretch of paper.

“
What are you up to Calix? Not plotting any more criminal activity I hope” I say.

When I
’m close enough, I can see a title that reads ‘Plan for Reuniting the City’ stretched out before him. It looks complex, a plan of someone who is highly articulate and skilled .A plan of someone who knows what he wants. A plan of Calix’s.

“
The City Reunited group has accomplished little. I really need to take a drastic step. The city needs order and harmony and Dad isn’t doing enough, he’s just making it worse. So I’m taking matters into my own hands” says Calix, sounding stressed and overworked.

I stare at his beautiful face, I think that by now I know it off by heart. But I always discover a new depth, angle or complexity that I never knew to be there. Calix has a face that seems to be forever changing, an essence I could never truly
grasp. Even though I probably know him better than anyone, I still sometimes feel I don’t know him at all. Sometimes I think he’s so handsome its intimidating, then other times I think he’s a little lost boy, with a cloud of sorrow following him around continuously, never letting him be. He’s such a complex person, difficult to understand. This spectrum of qualities, this ungraspable nature of him is what fascinates me most. It’s the reason that I want him and no one else.

“
Calix. I want us to get married. I understand your concern about the city, but please lets just concentrate on us” I say, feeling that sometimes I come second to The City of the Broken.

He pauses and looks intently at me for a moment.

“Yes Seren ,I want that too. Please don’t feel that I don’t care about us, you are all I think about even when I’m focusing on the city. But the reason we aren’t married already still exists. There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry” he says ,stroking my hair and then hugging me as a tear runs down my cheek.

I alw
ays know that when Calix doesn’t have an answer to a problem, then no one does.

We are not getting married. That
’s it. So I have to just forget about the whole idea and focus on Calix. Which is a vicious cycle that only leads me back to thinking about marriage. I talk about issues relating to the city to distract myself from my own heartache.

“
Why do you think the City Reunited group isn’t achieving much? Everyone is dedicated to it” I say, feigning interest and enthusiasm.

“
Its just a group where people vent their opinions, an outlet for anger. I thought we’d all work together to achieve progress, but its not happening .Nothing constructive is coming out of the group” he says moodily.

“
So what exactly are your plans for the City?” I ask, glancing towards his plan.

“
Well this isn’t going to involve the group. I might ask their opinions on certain aspects, but largely I’m going to do this alone. The vote is one idea obviously, I’ve arranged for that to take place this week. There will be a voting booth and people will go in anonymously and tick whether they consider themselves Pro-Happiness or Pro-Despair .There wont be a neutral option this time. I want an extreme result so that I know how the majority really feel” says Calix forcefully.

“
Do people need to register to vote?” I ask, considering the technicalities.

“
No. But they do need to be citizens of the City of the Broken. Sorry you cant vote Seren, but its only fair that the vote is limited to actual citizens, who have to live in the city
everyday
” he says sympathetically.

“
What else is in your plan?” I ask.

“
I’m printing leaflets and organizing awareness campaigns, to try and end discrimination against opposing groups and end this divide. I’ll be sending a copy of my leaflet ‘Pro-Togetherness :We are
all
citizens’ to everyone in the city which I hope will help the two groups understand each other and relate to each other more, whilst reaching a much larger audience than what the City Reunited group has done” he says.

“
I’ve never known anyone who multi-tasks as much as you Calix. I find college alone full on, but you somehow find time for that, running a city, rescuing hospital patients from a fate worse than death and not forgetting the full time job that is going home every night to your father. You deserve a medal” I say, feeling astonished that such a remarkable human being is actually my fiancé.

“
Seren don’t flatter me. Its not that hard, its more about time-management. Okay, wait-dealing with Dad is very hard, I wont deny that .Yes I do deserve a medal for that” he smiles.

“
Or at least the free will to marry who you choose” I say.

“
Yes that true. But really, you don’t pay attention to how wonderful and unique you are Seren. But I do. I cant comprehend how you are so understanding, adaptable and above all true to yourself” he says, looking genuinely intrigued and dazzled by my supposed qualities.

“
I don’t really know what you mean. Why adaptable, understanding? Yes, I suppose I am true to myself” I say recognizing the latter feature of my personality.

“
You don’t seem overly fazed that I’m a prince. You aren’t frightened by the fact that I rule over a dark and tormented city. You are even moderately accepting of my unbearable-to-be-around father. That surprised me, shocked me even. I never thought I could find a girl like you” he says lovingly.

“
You make it all sound so simple Calix, but its not .When I found out that you were a prince I was shell-shocked(when I finally believed you, though of course I didn’t at first).I found the city overwhelming when I first visited, sometimes I still do. And please lets not even pretend that I accept your Father .Put up with just so that I can be with his perfect son, yes.” I correct him.

Sometimes I think Calix really doesn
’t understand that everyday when I wake up, I think I must be having a recurring dream fused with a nightmare that I’m dating a prince who rules over broken people.

“
Still Seren, you stuck through it. You and I are still together, despite your initial and continuing doubts. That shows true courage and perseverance ,another two traits I admire in you” he says.

“
Yeah I guess you’re right, but I think you vastly overestimate my qualities. So when is this vote taking place? I’ll be interested in coming along to see the turn -out” I say.

“
Next Wednesday. Coincidentally enough on The City of the Broken’ s annual Gloomsday” he says, eyes dazzling with expectation.

“
Now, why haven’t I heard of that before?” I ask even more curious now to attend this public vote.

“
Probably because it’s the most over-hyped event in the Broken calendar and I didn’t think you’d be interested” he says bluntly.

When Calix and I head to the City of the Broken on Wednesday, skipping class to see the vote which begins at eleven A.M. ,I’m surprised at how many people there are. Crowds form orderly queues to one solitary voting booth. 

“
Don’t you think it would have been better to have more than a single booth?” I ask him as we drive through the eerie streets.

“
Well initially I did think of having a Pro-Happiness and a Pro-Despair booth, but I decided against it as I thought it would only make the divide worse and reinforce the differences. I think its good that they all have to queue together ,mingle with and get to know each other. The waiting because of the long queues only aids this” he says, smiling knowingly. 

“
Wow Calix. You really are cunning and clever. Reuniting the city down to the very last detail” I smile.

“
Well
somebody
has to. Its not like The Smiley’s are even allowed to be themselves anymore. Look at how they are dressed, everyone’s in black and grey” he says, looking concerned.

“
Perhaps there are no Smiley’s here and every one who’s voting is Pro-Despair” I suggest.

“
No. I think they’re here alright. They’re just in disguise. They wont miss an opportunity like this to have their say” he says.

“
They might if they are in jail” I say, reminding Calix that his Father can be just as devious, if not more so than him.

“
No. They are definitely not all in jail. I recognize some of them. They’re undercover, but they are here. If the vote is one hundred per cent Pro-Despair though, its obviously inaccurate. I wont let Dad have influence on this vote. I want it to be just and fair” he says.

Apart from the black voting booth with its large purple
‘B’s’ on both doors and the crowds of people, something special is also apparent in the city today.

Grey and black balloons are tied to lamp posts and buildings. Children have been face painted with tears and dark shadows under their eyed. Banners everywhe
re read ‘Unhappy Gloomsday’.